Hilmar Alamilla isn't the only person closely related to the former Minister of Natural Resources that was in the news this week. Yesterday we showed you several leaked land documents detailing the unusual way Vega's relatives acquired land at Ramsey Caye, located a few miles South of Belize City.
Former Lands Minister Vega has been the target of several political attacks in the last year, most of them involving dubious acquisition of land by his family members.
As the former UDP Captain in the North for the last decade, its not a stretch to conclude that all the negative press would cause his party's popularity in the area to decline in the north.
We asked Aragon, who is now the ranking UDP Minister in Orange Walk about his thoughts of the political cost of the controversies...
Hon. Elodio Aragon - Minister of State, Home Affairs
"Well first of all I haven't seen the footage. I wasn't able to see the news last night. I just heard about it, but I will tell you this: I don't think it will reduce anything. At the end of the day those are things that have been put out there and at the end of the day whoever will investigate that or look at that, that will be done. What I am concerned about is that the fact that definitely the UDP continues to work together in terms of what happening in Orange Walk and of course if you ask me do these things affects us? Of course it does. If they are true, of course it does, but at the end of the day you must understand that that does not represent every and each individual, minister of representative. Definitely we are there to work for our communities and we will continue to do that and I do believe at the end of the day the United Democratic Party is the better party for this country, it is a party that looks for the benefit of majority of our people and I think it out shadows that of the opposition party and therefore I am confident that we will continue to work and do what is right for the people of this country."
And since our story aired last night, we've learned some interesting details. We told you that the names of the people who sold the land to the Vega family members were unusual. Well, it turns out that they are not. They are actual people, who have social ties to Gaspar Vega and Rene Montero. Ramon Rosendo Baños is a close ally to both UDP politicians.
All those names you kept hearing such as Ricardo Ronaldo Baños, Roni Ronaldo Baños, Alyni Quintanilla, and Miriam Merida, they're actually family members Ramon Rosendo Baños. Ricardo and Roni are his sons, and we are told that Roni works at the Ministry of Works. Miriam Merida is Ramon Rosendo's wife, and Alny Quintanilla is his daughter-in-law. These are the people who bought crown land on Ramsey Caye, held it for a few months, before selling it to persons named Vega for a small profit.
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